Philadelphia Phillies: Last second predictions before Opening Day

The Philadelphia Phillies will kick off the 2020 MLB season against the Miami Marlins.

It’s finally here. MLB baseball is finally back. The New York Yankees and the defending World Series champions Washington Nationals kicked things off on Thursday night, and now it’s the Philadelphia Phillies turn to have their Opening Day. Before Bryce Harper and the Phils square off against the Miami Marlins, here are some very last second predictions as we cruise our way into the 2020 season.

The Phillies will make the playoffs

As I’m writing this, it was announced the MLB would in fact be implementing an expanded MLB postseason, allowing in a total of 16 teams this year. Obviously this makes things far easier for the Phillies as they look to end their October baseball drought, but even without the new rule I was feeling confident about the team’s chances this year.

More from Section 215

• 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
• Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
• 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
• Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
• Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles

They sured up their starting rotation with the addition of Zack Wheeler, Andrew McCutchen is returning from his knee injury, and the addition of Didi Gregorius is a game-changer. On top of all that, they added a World Series champ in Joe Girardi at manager. This is a team built to make the postseason.

Bryce Harper will be a MVP candidate

The majority of this shortened season will be played during the month of August, and Harper just so happened to also play his best baseball during the month of August last year. Across 24 games he hit 11 home runs, knocked in 25 RBIs, and recorded an outstanding OPS of 1.025. When the weather is at its hottest in CBP, the ball starts to jump off Harper’s bat.

Harper also looks to be in fantastic physical condition. He was raking during Spring Training #1, and kept up that form during the second batch of “Spring Training”. Just this past week he launched a three-run bomb off Nationals’ ace Max Scherzer.

The Phillies bullpen will struggle

While the first two predictions were quite positive, we do have to be a tad realistic here. Not everything on this Phillies roster is perfect.

Outside of Jose Alvarez and Hector Neris, there is very little to be impressed with in the Phillies bullpen (even Neris has his own concerns). Unproven guys like Ramon Rosso, Austin Davis, and Cole Irvin will be expected to contribute at a high level in 2020, which could result in plenty of blown games.

The Phils’ bullpen was a disaster in 2019, and they did very little to address it in the offseason. Even if Neris and Alvarez produce at a high level, there’s still plenty of questions to be had about the rest of the group.

Scott Kingery will be a Gold Glove candidate

Since being drafted, Phillies coaches have done nothing but rave about Scott Kingery’s elite athleticism and fielding skills. Despite playing second base for the majority of his time in the minors, he’s been unable to land the starting 2B job in the majors. With Girardi now in town, it’s looking like that’s finally going to change.

Kingery has exclusively played second during both Spring Training sessions, and Giradi hasn’t been shy in labeling him as the team’s Opening Day starter at that position. Paired up with Gregorius up the middle, you’re looking at potentially one of the best defensive middle infields in the league. Kingery won a minor league Gold Glove back in 2017, and could look to add a major league one here in 2020.

Other stories to watch this year include the debut of top rated prospects Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard, Jean Segura’s transition to third base, and of course the return of McCutchen to the lineup. Plenty of predictions could be made about those scenarios as well.